Cable-gripper



J. WHITALL.

l CABLE GRIPPBR. n v

Patented Oct. 30, A1'89LL.

mnlullllll I (No Model.)

1 .lluwl IIIIII :W duwummlduv sums PEYERs no. Puqmupeo., WASHINGTON n cUNITED STATES PATENT OEETCE.

AMES 'WHITALL OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CABLE-GRIPPER.Y

sPEcIFIcATroN forming part of Letters Patent Ne. 528,313, dated oeteber30,1894.

Application filed May 16, 1 8 94.

.To all it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JAMES WHITALL, a citi .zen ofthe United States,residing at Chicago, 1n the county of Cool; andl State of Illinois, haveinvented `certain new and useful Improvementsin Oable-Grippers, of whichthe followingis a specification.

The object ofthe present Vinvention is to provide a gripper' of ,suchvconstruction that when brought into contact with the cable the movementof the cable relatively to the gripper, actingyupon a movable jaw orjaws, causes the gripper to automatically take hold. In accomplishingthis object I construct the gripper of asuitablefranie carrying acam orcams, and I coninewithin'this frame, by some suitable means, a jawv (ora `pair of jaws) Which-is movable relativelyto the cam in the directionof the length of the cable.

The gripper which forms the subject of the present invention may be usedwhere the cable is either vertical or horizontal, or in any otherposition, and is intended more especially for carrying light loads,being particularly adapted for use in cash or bundle carryingsystems,and for lifting buildingand other materials.

The invention consists in the "featuresv of novelty thatare,particularlypointed out in the claims hereinafter, and in order thatit may be fully understood I willf'de's'cribe it with reference to theaccompan'yingl drawings, which are made apart hereof, and in` which- 'jFigures Vl and 2 are, respectively, a front and a' rear elevation partlyinsecti'on'v of Aa gripper embodying the invention'.` Figs; -3 and 4eare hQriZontal and vertical/sections thereof on the lines 2-2 and 4 4,respectively. o Fig. 5 is a front elevation'of a portion of al gripperembodying theinvention runder a slight modification. t, l

In describing the improved gripper this specification, conformable`tothe law and practice, will be coniined to theidentical con, structionshown in the drawings, butI desire to have it understood that lmanyl ofthe details that are shown and hereinafter Vdescribed are not essentialfeatures.

The construction shown'is simple 'and has been proveneective, but inmany respects it may be altered without departing from the seein No.511,402. (remodel.)

. is providedin front with a longitudinal slot oropeningfct, andhasheavy end wallsra otched opposite th'e opening 'a for the admissionof the cable BL C, O, are oppositely located` cams or cam surfaces whichare preferably formed upon the side walls a?. of Vth'eblock A and eachof which, preferably, has two slopes."

D, D, are a'pair of 'heavy plates placed against the opposite sides ofthe block A and secured in place thereon by tie-bolts E, E, the blockbeing provided on its ends' with notchedlugs e which engage said boltsand prevent their lateral mo'vementrelatively to the block'. 'Withinthefblockare'contined a .pair of grippingy jaws, which' are so locatedthat each of them may have'contact with-one of the cams C, said'jawsbeing capable of moving relatively to vthe cams in the directionof thelength of the cable.

particular construction, albeitethe construction shown in the drawingsis preferable because of its simplicityand'eectiveness. As shown, eachof these jaws consists of a housing F', in which isjournaled a pairofrollers F', and in which is secured a friction pad F2, preferably madeof soft rubber. Each of the housings has a fiange f which bears 'againstthe rear edge ofgthefside wallo.2 of the block,

a flange fjwhich' occupies a groove in said side wall, and 'a flange f2l'which' occupies a groove inthe inner face of the front of the block,these several flanges and grooves being provided forl the purposev ofguiding the jaw in itsk endwise movement. The t'wo jaws are looselyconnected by means of a metallic strap or link G,pivotally connected atone end to one end of one of the'jaws', an'd at the other end to theopposite end of the other jaw, so that it willpermit the jaws tomovefreely toward or from (each other and at the same time hold them againstany considerable relative endwise movement.

The meeting faces of the friction pads F2y The invention is not limitedto jaws of any IOO preferably are outward, so that a cable ine sertedbetween them will eventually come in` contact with them, and when oncein contact the friction will be sufficient to cause the jaws to partakeof the movement of the cable and in so doing move relatively to the camsC, and since the cams converge, or approach each other in the directionin which the cable is moving, it follows that the jaws will be forcedtoward each other and grip the cable. It will be seen also that theforce with which the cable is gripped will be directly proportional tothe load, or the resistance to the movement of the frame. This being so,the gripper is entirely automatic not only in that it closesautomatically, but also in that it grips the cable with only so muchforce as is necessary in order to enable it to carry the load. When theof soft rubber they will yield and permit the rollers to come in contactwith and grip the cable, but if they are made of a hard material thegripping can be done by them instead of by the rollers, the rollersacting simply as through which the jaws l on the side adjacent thecable,

anti-friction devices bear upon the cams.

In order to more securely hold the jaws against displacement, I arrangebehind them and in contact with the link G a pair of bars I-I, and inorder to lessen the friction between said bars and link loose sleeves Iare put upon n them.

I have -not shown the gripperV constructed as above described, appliedto a receptacle or vehicle of any sort, because the manner of soapplying it will be perfectly obvious to those skilled in the art, andwill vary according to the requirements of particular cases. Forexample, if the gripper is used for elevating building or othermaterial, an L-shaped bracket K may be secured to one side of it, and areceptacle or vehicle may be secured to the horizontal arm k ofthisbracket. This is, however, merely illustrative and the invention isnot limited to it.

The cable may be released in one of two ways, either by seizing thegripper,or the receptacle to which it is attached, and moving it in thesame direction in which the cable is moving and at a little greaterspeed than the speed of the cable, or by simply striking the cable so asto knock it from between the jaws.

With a gripper constructed as above described and having a pair ofmovable jaws, both jaws will have equal movement toward or from thecentral line of the cable, and

m while this is preferred, still, itis not necessary.

In Fig. 5 I have shown Va gripper in which onlyone movable jaw is used.This jaw is constructed, arranged and operates as already described, thecable being gripped between it and a pair of fixed rollers F3.

Having thus described my invention, the following is what I claim as newtherein and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

l. In a gripper, the combination with a suitable frame or support, of acam carried thereby, a gripping jaw engaged by the cam and friction padsF2 are made n able frame or support, of a cam carried capable of movingrelatively thereto in the direction of the length of the cable, said jawhaving a yielding friction pad adapted to engage the cable, and rollersadapted to engage and bite the cable when the friction pad iscompressed, substantially as set forth.

2. In a gripper, the combination with a suitable frame or support, of acam carried thereby, and a gripping jaw engaged by the cam and capableof moving relatively thereto in the direction of thc length of thecable, said jaw having rollers engaging the cam, and a friction padprojecting beyond a plane which touches the peripheries of the rollerson the side adjacent the cable, substantially as set forth.

3. In a gripper, the combination with a suitthereby, and a gripping jawengaged by the cam and capable of movingrelatively thereto in thedirection of the length of the cable, said jaw having rollers engagingthe cam and having a yielding pad projecting beyond a plane whichtouches the peripheries of the rollers substantially as set forth.

fl. In a gripper, the combination with a suitable frame or support, of apair of oppositely located cams carried thereby and a pair of grippingjaws engaged by the cam and capable of moving relatively thereto in thedirection of the length of the cable, said jaws having anti-frictionrollers engaging the cams and adapted to engage and bite the cable,substantially as set forth.

5. lIn a gripper, the combination with a suitable frame or support, of apair of oppositely located cams carried thereby, and a pair `of grippingjaws capable of moving relatively to the cams in the direction of thelength of the cable, said jaws having anti-friction ,rollers engagingthe cams, and friction pads proj ecting beyond a plane which touches theperipheries of the rollers on the side adjacent the cable, substantiallyas set forth.

6. In agripper, the combination witha suitable frame or support, of apair of cams carried thereby, and a pair of gripping jaws engaged by thecams and capable of moving relatively thereto in the direction ofthelength of the cable, and means connecting said jaws and permittingtheir relative lateral movement toward or from each other whilerestraining them from relative endwise movement, substantially as setforth.

7. In a gripper, the combination with a suitable frame or support, of apairof oppositely located cams carried thereby, and a pair of grippingjaws engaged by the cams and capable of moving relatively thereto in thedirection of the length of the cable, and a link pivotally connected atone end to one end of one of the jaws and at the other end to the oppo-lsite end of the other j aw, substantiallyas set forth.

8. In a gripper, the combination with a suitable frame or support, of acam carried there- ICO TIO

able frame or support, of a cani carried thereby, and a gripping jawengaged by the cam and having flanges engaging guiding shoulders uponthe frame or support, substantially as set forth.

JAMES WHITALL.

Witnesses: 1

L. M. HOPKINs, J. HALPENNY.

